Advance SOTU Speech Excerpts: “Our Generation’s Sputnik Moment”

President Obama will say that this is “our generation’s sputnik moment” in his State of the Union Address tonight. He will use that metaphor to spur the country to a round of competitiveness.

“Half a century ago, when the Soviets beat us into space with the launch of a satellite called Sputnik, we had no idea how we’d beat them to the moon,” Obama will say, according to excerpts released by the White House. “The science wasn’t there yet. NASA didn’t even exist. But after investing in better research and education, we didn’t just surpass the Soviets; we unleashed a wave of innovation that created new industries and millions of new jobs.”

Spending freezes will include calls for billions of dollars in defense cuts.

“The president is putting forward a five-year plan developed by Secretary Gates to achieve $78 billion in defense savings,” one administration official said earlier Tuesday.

He will also call for bipartisanship and civility.

“We will move forward together, or not at all – for the challenges we face are bigger than party, and bigger than politics,” Obama is expected to say.